On the last day of his state visit to China, Philippine President Duterte on Friday signed more than 20 Memoranda of Understanding MOU) agreements with China worth US$24 billion. The deals included trade, investment, and other areas of mutual interest.

Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters on Friday that the initial US$13.5 billion worth of Chinese investment that was supposed to be signed by Duterte had increased to US$ 24 billion by the end of his visit on October 21.

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"Based on the numbers we are putting together now, in terms of investments, credit facilities opened, $24 billion," Lopez announced at a press conference in Beijing.

Soft loans

Around US$15 billion of the US$24 billion worth of deals that Duterte is scheduled to take home to Manila came from Chinese private companies while the US$ 9 billion were in the form of soft loans from Chinese banks.

Lopez said the loans would be made available for Philippine development projects such as infrastructure, railway, and the industrial sector, among others.

The Philippines trade secretary said the Chinese investments and soft loans would be spread across various industries which include tourism, agriculture, energy, telecommunications, food, and infrastructure.

2 million jobs

Officials from the Philippine department of trade and industry said China's numerous investments in the country would generate at least two million jobs for Filipino people with the figure expected to rise in the next five years.

Meanwhile, Duterte announced on Thursday that he was "separating" from the United States and realigning Manila with Beijing in terms of military and economic relations.

"I've realigned myself in your [China] ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to President Vladimir Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world--China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way," he told a group of Chinese and Filipino businessmen after his talks with President Xi Jinping. 

TagsPresident Rodrigo Duterte, President Xi Jinping, MOUs, trade and investment, business deals, deveopment projects, infrastructure, Duterte China visit, Manila, Beijing